Google’s Quantum Computer

Published December 10th at 12:00am

Quantum computing - it’s fast become somewhat of a holy grail for the technology industry in the past few years. It’s a method of processing that uses the bizarre principles of quantum mechanics that aim to explain behaviour of matter and energy on an atomic and subatomic level. When described in that fashion, quantum computing sounds like a work of science fiction (indeed, there were doubts for many years if it was even possible). But the D-Wave computer purchased by Google & NASA two years ago has just put these doubts to bed - their unit works. It works so well that it is 100 million times fast than the computer you're currently using.

Hartmut Nevan, director of engineering at Google explained the test findings; "What a D-Wave does in a second would take a conventional computer 10,000 years to do," The machine "raced" a conventional single-processor computer in a number of tasks, and outperformed it in every instance. This quite ridiculous processing speed could provide for a revolution in computing. But how does it actually work?

Quantum mechanics works on the principle that matter can be in multiple states at the same time; it can be present, not present or both at the same time. This is the principle behind the famous ‘Schrodingers Cat’ thought experiment coined in 1935 in that the cat in the box can be both alive and dead at the same time. If you apply this line of thought to computing it looks like this. In binary, you can only have 1s and 0s (on or off), but with a quantum computer it can be either 1 or 0, or both - all at the same time.

This ability to be in numerous states at once means that data can be processed at speeds never thought possible when compared to a more conventional, brute force method of trying combinations of 1s and 0s repeatedly until the problem is solved. However, it’s worth holding back on the excitement just yet as the D-Wave machine was specifically engineered to solve the algorithms the two computers were tested against, giving it a distinct advantage. Previous tests held with machines without this precise engineering found no significant difference between conventional computing and quantum computing.

On top of that, quantum computers need to be kept in extreme states in order to operate. The processor needs to be chilled to 10 millikelvins - 100 times colder than interstellar space and effectively the coldest place in the universe. There also needs to be an extremely low magnetic environment created, about 50,000 times less than the Earth’s ambient magnetic field. Naturally, this requires a fantastic amount of energy - so quantum computing looks to be a while away from becoming an industry mainstay, but the potential is undeniable.

If proven to be commercially viable, quantum computing could transform analytical methods for interoperating scenarios where there are mass volumes of variable data. Smart-city travel planning could be one application for the disruptive technology. Being able to factor route planning on a mass scale and establish the most efficient routes for commuters on an individual basis could rapidly decrease congestion, pollution, journey time and fuel inefficiencies for example.

The future of quantum computing is inevitable and impossible… at the same time, all we need to do now is take the leap.